The Miami Dolphins sat several starters against the Chicago Bears in their first preseason game of the year, but quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was in for the first series. 

This was the first time Tagovailoa played in the preseason opener since the 2021 season, and he was pretty efficient on his only drive. Tua finished completing five of six passes for 27 yards and an 85.4 passer rating. 

As always, Tua got the ball out quickly and was accurate in the short area of the field. The Bears played a lot of man coverage, so Tua just picked his best pre-snap matchup on every play. 

The drive started out rocky with an illegal formation penalty on right tackle Larry Borom, who was filling in for the injured Austin Jackson. Tua then completed three straight passes to second-year receiver Malik Washington, including a fourth-down conversion. 

Washington finished with four catches for 18 yards on four targets, as his timing with Tua looked to be on point. He also had a carry on an end around for six yards. 

In fact, all of Tua’s completions on the opening drive were to someone named Washington. That’s not too surprising since the team did not play Tyreek Hill or Jaylen Waddle. Tua also found Tahj Washington over the middle for a third-down conversion in the red zone. 

Although Tagovailoa and the offense got down to the goal line, the Dolphins couldn’t quite punch it in. The team called four straight running plays to Jaylen Wright, but the Bears stuffed them every time. 

Tagovailoa suiting up for the game isn’t too surprising, given that coach Mike McDaniel said he was leaning on playing some of the starters before the Bears and Dolphins’ joint practice on Friday. 

“But my starting point is I’d like to get the starters snaps,” McDaniel said Friday. “How long or if at all will kind of be determined by the collective conversation that we’re going to have after this practice.” 

Tua struggled a bit in the joint practice, throwing three interceptions after throwing just one interception in intra-squad action. Obviously, any stats from training camp and joint practices should be taken with a grain of salt.  

Last preseason, Tagovailoa played one drive against the Washington Commanders in preseason Week 2, and he led a touchdown-scoring drive despite Hill and Waddle being on the bench.

While it’s good to see Tua look sharp in limited preseason action, the only thing that matters is that he didn’t take any hits. Tagovailoa is a good quarterback when he’s on the field, but he’s played a full season just once.

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